


Between the Cracks

by bubb



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: 10 year old potty mouths, Gen, be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 10:43:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15117707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubb/pseuds/bubb
Summary: And Hell, zeroing in on two familiar faces hopping off the school bus that one September morning? Man. That was a...not shitty surprise.Max didn’t get a whole lot of not shitty surprises.





	Between the Cracks

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally gonna be a story that was scrapped and i reworked it into a oneshot thing. It's mostly just practice to test if i could write the kids at least somewhat in character.
> 
> Also written long before season 3 came out and i learned candy gave carl a fake number so this outcome probably aint likely. but in my perfect world, neil and nikki are siblings at least for a little while.

Max knew a cliché when he heard one and his life was chalk full of them.

Let’s just get this out of the way and say he didn’t have any friends to begin with. Yup, he was That Kid. That miserable little bastard who was just a tad too unpleasant to spend your recess with. And you know what? Max was cool with this.

But if you pushed him to explain why he was suddenly hanging out with Bill Gates Jr. and Georgina of The Jungle, he wouldn’t have an answer for you. They were just a part of his life now.

He didn’t know about their respective reputations when he met them and he didn’t fucking care. Max had no idea they even attended the same school as him, when they “bonded” (hijacked buses, caused fires, overthrew their authority figures. Y’know all the usual team building bullshit.) during their summer at Camp Campbell.

And Hell, zeroing in on two familiar faces hopping off the school bus that one September morning? Man. That was a...not shitty surprise.

Max didn’t get a whole lot of not shitty surprises.

It’s not like they were social butterflies either. You would guess Neil was a loner due to genetic Hollywood Nerd Syndrome. But while that was certainly an attribute, at the core he was just finicky about his choice of people. Easily irritated and likely to close up with the help of a book, Neil was as neutral as Max when it came to friends.

Nikki...well, her situation was a little more involuntary. The poor kid had a rumor spread around, leaving her ostracized for the last two years now. She had rabies, apparently.

Those fucking assholes....

Luckily, Nikki was both cheery and adaptable, taking social banishment in her stride. Didn’t stop her from befriending any sharp biter she could grasp with her filthy little fingers. She lived with what she had.

Max wouldn’t say any of them were _desperate_ for friends. But once they saw each other, clicking side-by-side again came naturally as a “Fuck you.” to David.

‘Outcasts’ was the word that described them best. However, call them that to his face and he would end your life on the spot. None of that “Aww, so, you guys found each other!” crap either.

Their current Loner Losers who Became Friends situation had been done to death in a million movies. Max knew that. But you wouldn’t catch them hunting no killer clown so stop that train of thought right this instant.

Then again, Nikki would probably be down-....

“And just _where_ do you think you’re going?” Snapped a voice sharp as a blade, professionally trained to startle.

But every so often, even the strictest teacher encounters a kid who’s seen an old folks Sex Dungeon. Max barely flinched.

He was one foot out the classroom door, Nikki’s bouncy pigtails still in his line of vision before he was reeled back in by the end of his hood.

This again.

“What’s gotten into you?” Was the question most asked when he was being given lectures. He didn’t get into trouble every day anymore, which left teachers bemused and disappointed when he did start acting out.

Shitty kids don’t just go good overnight, genius.

Seven minutes of his well deserved lunch period was eaten away by Ms. Muckling repeating the same tired speech she always gave, cutting herself off numerous time to demand he stop rolling his eyes.

“Shape up.”

“Stop disrupting the learning.”

“You’re a bright boy and you’re better than this.”

Max counted the phrases off in his head as she went along.

Jesus, could the woman not handle a couple wads of paper thrown at the back of her head without going on a tirade?

By the time he was released, just as much of an asshole as when he was dragged in, the lunch hall was gradually filling up tables.

To make things easier for Max, Neil had Science class before lunch on Fridays. He could be heard whining about unqualified teachers from a mile away.

“-It’s like-like-...like he just skimmed the basic principles and decided that’s enough! Hey, buddy, it’s not like you’re teaching the future of America here! No, no, not at all. Just a bunch of dumb fifth graders, right?!”

“Hey, I like Mr. Horace!” Nikki piped up, spitting out specks of chewed chicken nugget mush as she spoke. “He gave me ten dollars once,”

The disgust directed at her crumbs on the table, dropped off Neil’s face and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What did you catch him doing?”

“Just eating brownies.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “But I guess he didn’t wanna share cuz he made me promise not to tell anybody-”

A split second pause as the realization flooded in. “Ohhhhhhhh, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” Nikki whispered.  “I hope he doesn’t come looking for his ten dollars back.”

A sudden sound sliced the conversation in half, both kids turning automatically to a familiar, skull printed lunch box, which had been slammed on the table. Its owner then swung his legs over the opposite bench and plopped himself down.

“So. What I miss?”

“Nikki was bribed to keep her mouth shut about a teacher’s weed brownies.” Neil deadpanned.

Nikki happily nodded.

“Horace?” Max guessed, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Who else would it be? The guy’s on another planet.” Max scoffed, cupping his cheek and directing a nod at Neil. “I’m surprised _you_ didn’t notice.”

“Look, it’s easy to assume that some people are just idiots, Max. In this day and age, even trained professionals.”

“Just admit you didn’t know he was high out of his fucking mind and go, Neil.”

Nikki was thoroughly invested with hand mashing her tater tots, the boys too accustomed to a shaking table to pay much notice. She was shovelling some stale paste into her mouth as she pointed to Max’s lunch box. “You gonna eat that?”

The smirk slipped from his lips, now slack jawed with a lack of an answer. He stared down at the box warily before sucking in a deep inhale. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am.”

His hands hovered over the latch, fingers just brushing the plastic but hesitant to make direct contact.

“What’s the problem, Max?” The idea that Nikki would speak _without_ food in her mouth was fantasy at this point. “You got a snake in there?”

Max said nothing, features crinkling in distaste.

“Oh my gosh, you dooo!” Their trays clattered suddenly as Nikki stood to the bench, stars sparked in her eyes. Her palms slapped down on the table in a demand for answers.

“What’s its name? What does it eat? Is it poisonous? How poisonous, exactly? Can it kill a man? How big a man? What’s its kill count?” Her questions shot rapid-fire, knees springing with every word.

“It’s not a snake, Nik.”

A single sentence that looked to crush her very soul.

Nikki’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout and she slumped back into her seat, glumly nibbling her last chicken nugget. “Pretty sure we talked about not dashing my hopes, _Max_.”

“Yeah, well, pretty sure we also talked about not getting those hopes up so fast.” He retorted, finally mustering the courage to snap the lunch box open.

“So, if it’s not a snake, what is it?” Neil cocked his head to peer into the box’s contents.

“Just a shitty lunch.” Max muttered. He reached inside and tentatively drew out a foil wrapped rectangle.

“Yeah, man, join the club.” Neil picked up a hardened calzone from his tray and weighed it in his hand thoughtfully. “I gotta wonder what numbskulls picks out school lunches. Is there a single nutritionist present when they make these decisions? We’d probably be better off packing our own lunch like Ma-”

Slop.

Slop was the only word that could describe what slipped out between the bread of Max’s sandwich. A brownish green dollop, mixed with smidgens of rice lay in a splatter on the table.

Neil paled, a primal instinct drawing his body as far away from the stain as possible. “What the Hell is that supposed to be?”

Nikki, on the other hand, gazed at the stuff with a curious tilt of the head. She stretched across the table and gave it a questioning sniff before lunging back suddenly like she had been stung.

“Evil.” She murmured darkly.

Max rolled his eyes. “Leftover chicken curry. Without the chicken part.”

“How old is it?!”

“Hell if I know.”

“And you made a sandwich out of that?!” Neil was in one of his incredulous squawking states.

“It was all I could find in the fridge.”

“Don’t your parents go grocery shopping?” Nikki asked, eyes never breaking from his abomination of a lunch as if it would attack at any moment.

“They’ve been busy.”

“Yeeeeeaaaah,” Neil grimaced. “I don’t think you should eat that. Unless you wanna spend Spring Break puking your guts out.”

Max released a tired sigh. His fingers drummed against the bread, uncertain. “I gotta eat _something_.”

“I wouldn’t eat it.” said Nikki with a convicted headshake. “Looks gross.”

The two boys shared a look. An unspoken acceptance passed between them, that anything Nikki wouldn’t eat was deemed completely and utterly inedible. Defeated, Max dropped the sandwich.

There was a moment of silence.

So, he wasn’t having lunch today. That was fine. No big deal. Not really.

Neil looked from Nikki’s (empty) tray to his own.

Shitty nuggets and tater tots remained unimpressively in a soggy heap. A terrible lunch.

But a million times better than a slop sandwich.

“Uh, hey, Max, do you want-?”

“No.” Max cut him off immediately. “I’m not some kind of bottom feeder, Neil. Eat your own damn lunch.”

“You expect me to eat this crap on my own? I don’t even think I can get through half of it!”

“Can I have-?” Nikki received a swift slap to the knee, her grabby hand freezing where it was. “Ow!”

“So,” Neil slid the tray between him and Max. “I’m probably gonna dump the rest anyway.”

Seconds passed in quiet contemplation before Max’s lips curled into a smirk.

“You’re weak, Neil.” He said, popping a chicken nugget in his mouth.

Nikki laughed, looking for a source of entertainment with no food left to devour. “He really is,” She wriggled into Neil’s space and proceeded to poke, poke, poke vigorously into his side, much to his (high pitched) irritation.

“Sometimes, when I get bored, I make him wrestle with me but it’s never any fun…”

“It’s not supposed to-Ow!... -to be fun!” Neil was twisting in his seat to dodge Nikki’s fingers, noodly arms going haywire to catch hold of her hands.

Nikki scoffed, still unrelenting. “It’s not fun cuz I can pin you in like five seconds,”

“Cut it out!”

“Nuh uh!”

“Nikki!”

He finally grabbed her wrists with a triumphant “Ha!” as she writhed and whined like a chained puppy.

Neil watched her, expression stony. “Thank God for Spring Break, Nik.” He sighed. “You and I need some time apart or I’m gonna have an aneurysm.”

“Wait. What, now?” Max was grinning, always an amused spectator when his friends went at each other.

“Neil, I hate to break this to you but....” He pointed to a released Nikki, now rubbing her pinkened wrists. “Little Miss John Cena over here is your stepsister-to-be, remember? You guys live together. She’s not going anywhere.”

“Oh, but she is!” Neil perked up at the opportunity to explain. “She’s gonna be out of my hair the whole week, Max! The whole week!” He gave Nikki a light but eager thwack on the shoulder. “Go ahead, tell him it’s true. Tell him you’re gonna be gone,”

Nikki nodded enthusiastically. “I’m staying at my Dad’s place for Spring Break!”

It was her glee saturated tone that caused envy to shrivel his insides.

Max had no business being a bitch, especially to his best friends. And damn, just like always, that tiny voice was telling him not to.

But he did it anyway.

“Ooooh,” He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “That’s gonna suck.”

“No, it’s not,” Nikki’s smile fell ever so slightly, before yanking itself back up. “He says we can order whatever I want for dinner and we’re gonna watch movies and stay up late and-”

“Oh, I get it. So, he’s trying to get you to like him more than your mom.”

“Well, yeah, pretty much.” Neil interjected, shrugging. “That’s what our parents do, Max. We just gotta embrace it and take what we can get.”

Nikki remained noticeably unruffled by his statement as she nodded in agreement.

There was a slight pause.

Max usually tried not to let it bother him. He was above that.

But for Neil and Nikki, looking for the bright side of their current situation came easily. And for people who didn’t _have_ a brightside, that just wasn’t fair.

Hell, all Max could muster on a good day was “Not a big deal.”

Some infantile urge longed to throw a tantrum on the spot.

“So,” He forced that urge down with every shred of self restraint, turning to Neil with a purpose and a strained smirk. “What does our favourite nerd have planned for Spring Break?”

“I don’t even know, man!” He never looked happier to _not_ know something. “Doesn’t matter! The point is that whatever I do, I’ll be doing it in sweet solitude.”

“Ohh, that’s right,” Max feigned an innocent interest, scratching along the line of his chin. “You guys share a room, don’t you?”

“Not this week we don’t.” Neil chriped with a self satisfied nod.

“Aww, you’re not gonna miss her?” The glint in Max’s eye flickered mischievously “Not even a little bit? Think you’ll be able to sleep without her familiar nighttime ambience?”

Nikki turned to Neil, cheerful and expectant, squished cheeks resting in her palms.

Neil stared back at her, evidently confused before it hit him like a brick.

“Oh my God, her snoring!” He slapped his forehead, a sudden giddy clarity lighting up his face. “I-I can’t believe I forgot about that. A whole week without Nikki’s snoring...”

Neil couldn’t be more delighted. He was soaring sky high.

But Max specialized in popping bubbles. Ain’t that just unfortunate?

“Uh huh. Just you and your thin walls.”

He set eyes on him, eyebrow raised. “Thin walls?”

“Yup.” His lip twitched, struggling to keep his expression casual. “Just the wall that separates your room from your Dad’s. No more Nikki to drown out the noises of your Dad and Candy ha-”

“Oh my God, _Max_!” Neil all but screeched. His arms flailed comically in his panic, before his hands found his ears and clogged them shut.

Even as a Man of Science, some teeny tiny piece of him still seemed to believe that if he covered his ears, the words Max had spoken would not burrow deep into his valuable brain and leave a nasty bite.

Spoiler alert, this was ineffective.

At least judging by the way Neil’s face crinkled, disgust seeping into his expression. “Man, I hate you.” He muttered.

Max choked back a snicker and surprisingly Nikki giggled along. His smirk fell at the sound and he turned to her, stunned.

Usually when the boys drifted into _certain_ topics or jokes, her confusion shone through in all its innocent glory. However, with Max’s constant influence and insistence on bringing up every possible subject forbidden on an internet child safety lock, she was slowly but surely catching on.

“Haha, Neil’s gotta listen to Mom and Carl do their gross grown-up stuff all night!” She teased, swaying in her seat as she pointed to the current Object of Shit-Giving.

Max felt a sudden rush of pride, possibly even stronger than that time she proposed planting Nibbles the Rat in Ms. Muckling’s desk. Their girl was getting savvy.

But of course, he didn’t vocalize it.

Neil seemed to be thinking something similar. Though sitting with his fist propping his head up and Nikki hovering against his shoulder and playfully prodding his temple, a faint smile still flickered momentarily.

It didn’t last, fading just seconds afterwards as he raised his head. He looked to Max, desperate.

“Can I stay with you?”

Shit.

“Ah.” Was all Max managed to say at first. He was hoping to avoid telling them his Spring Break plans if he could help it. “Uh, no. No, you can’t. Tough break.”

“Dude, come on! Please!”

“Neil-”

“I’ve been dreaming of this week for _months_ , Max! Just one week of quiet, just one, I’m begging you!”

Shit.

Against his better judgement, Max glanced down at his pathetic excuse for a lunch and then at the tray that he had been picking from. Rightfully Neil’s but it _had_ been pushed his way, hadn’t it?

Shiiiiiiit.

“Neil, I-....I can’t help ya. Look, I’m sorry ‘n all but I’m not gonna be home for Spring Break.”

Neil’s pleading ceased and he blinked, clasped hands falling to rest against the table. Nikki mirrored his confusion, cocking her head. Both stared at him.

“You goin’ on vacation or something?”

“Not exactly.”

“Juvie?” Neil asked, far too casually for Max’s liking.

He scoffed. “As if you both wouldn’t be going down with me.”

“Well, where then? You’re not giving us much to go on here.”

Max, ever unhelpful, shrugged. “I don’t know.”

An uncertain silence followed.

“Is this why you’re failing geography?” There was a hint of snark in Neil’s exasperated tone. He leaned forward, folding his elbows over the surface and smirked. “Just don’t have a plan destination-wise?”

“Something like that.”

“Maaaaax,” Nikki whined. “Tell us what the deal is!”

“There’s no deal.” He snapped. “You guys are just getting all into it but there’s nothing interesting or exciting or anything about it, I just have nowhere to fucking go!”

Max only realized how loudly he had spoken when he noticed Neil’s split-second wince.

The pause was an uncomfortable one, comprising of Neil trying to piece together whatever the fuck _that_ meant and the intensely curious burn of Nikki’s bright eyes.

Of course, it was her to ask the obvious.

“What about your house?”

“The parents.” He stated, expression determinedly neutral. “ _They’re_ going on vacation. The first one in a while.”

“And…” Neil implored gently. “They’re not taking you?”

Max squinted, baffled by the stupidity of the very idea. “Why the fuck would they take me? Who in their right mind wants to go on vacation with their shitty kid?”

Nikki inhaled, ready to disagree with his stance, when Neil subtly tapped her knee. She glanced at him and he shook his head so quick, you would miss it if you blinked.

Max didn’t notice. Surprising to everyone, including himself, he continued to elaborate. “They wanna dump me with the old lady across the street.”

Neil raised an eyebrow. “So....you _do_ have somewhere to go?”

“Nope.” He said with a pop of his lips. “You don’t know this woman like I do, Neil. She can’t tell the difference between a ten year old and a toddler. She has fucking safety plugs in her electric sockets for Christ’s sake! Thinks I’m dumb enough to stick my stupid fingers in them.”

“Didn’t you try messing with the sockets at camp once?” Nikki asked.

“That is beside the point! Anyway, that just gives you a taste of how much of a little kid she thinks I am. Doesn’t let me go outside, doesn’t let me eat what I want or use the internet or even let me choose my own TV channels. I cannot handle another Mickey Mouse Clubhouse marathon, guys.There is no way in Hell I’m doing more time.”

“Ohhhh,” Neil nodded slowly, starting to see the big picture. “So the plan is to escape.”

Max nodded.

“But once you make a run for it, you’ve got nowhere else to go.”

Another nod. “I’ll figure something out.”

“You did that at camp too! Remember? We were on that boat with Snake and we almost died!” Nikki recounted, smiling ear-to-ear.

Max said nothing, moving to take another chicken nugget. He chewed with an unsettled stomach. Not that he would admit it but speaking of his “plan” aloud had just opened his eyes to what a disaster it really was. But hey, it was the only option.

Dread pooled overwhelmingly as the image of empty midnight streets flashed in his mind’s eye. But to the best of his abilities, he wouldn’t outwardly panic.

“Hey.” Neil broke the silence.

With Max in a daze, the quiet voice still startled him. His head snapped up, eyes wider than the usual tired, half-lidded gaze.

Neil either failed to notice or didn’t comment. Rather, he just smiled. “Can I come?”

It took him a second or two. Or five.

“What?” Max finally deadpanned.

“I want in on your dumbass idea.”

“......Why?”

His look was that of someone who had already seen Hell and dragged himself back by the fingernails. “My Dad and Candy’s sex noises, Max. My Dad and Candy’s sex noises.”

Nikki’s laughter jingled at the mention of the “Sex” word.

“Y’know what? Legit.”

“So, I’m coming, right?”

“Neil, you realize I don’t have a plan? You hate not having a plan.”

“True,” He brushed it off with a nonchalant shrug. “But we can brainstorm our options and between the two of us, it’s statistically likelier to reach at least one idea that’ll work out.”

“You’re just scared I won’t survive on my own.”

“Well, that too. But at least let me _pretend_ to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Despite the twinge of annoyance he should have felt at that remark, Max allowed himself a tiny smile. Three knots unwound from his insides. “Alright. You’re in.”

“I’m in too!” Announced Nikki with a proud beam.

Max’s brow furrowed. “Nik, you actually _have_ a place to go. Your Dad’s, remember?”

She nodded. “Guess I gotta wait ‘til next weekend to see him.”

“We’re gonna be _on the streets_.”

For any child, that should not ignite a sparkle in their eye. But Nikki....

“Oh, cool! Maybe I’ll find some dumpster raccoons!”

...was Nikki.

Three more knots gone.

Max turned to Neil, waiting for him to object. But instead he found the other boy to be nodding agreeably.

“Hey. I thought you wanted a Nikki-free Spring Break?”

“Well, yeah,” He shrugged. “But that was before this became an _Us_ thing.”

“A _what_ thing?”

“Us.” Neil quickly gestured from Nikki to Max to himself. “When it’s a bad idea that could result in making new enemies, fatal injuries, jail time or death, it becomes an _Us_ thing and we’re all in it together. We can’t leave her out of an _Us_ thing.”

Nikki was quick to chime in. “Yeah, _Neil’s_ the genius guy and he’s got the common sense n’ stuff,”

She jabbed a forefinger in Max’s direction. “You’re kinda evil and a goldmine of underhanded schemes. And _I’m_ the agent of chaos who has looked death in the eye and spit on his ugly Oxford Shoes!”

Disturbingly specific.

A hand slammed down on the table. She thumped it insistently. “But if we want any of our plans to go right, it’s gotta be all of us or none of us.”

Max’s bottom lip fell. “Isn’t-...isn’t that the definition of Ride or Die?”

A beat.

“Ride or Die!” Nikki whooped suddenly, pumping her fists in the air.

Wow. Wow, that was...a lot to take in.

Max opened his mouth, only to find he was at a loss for words. Thinking fast, he threw together a suitable answer.

“D-does that mean...if you and Neil have a bad idea, I have to participate? I have no choice?”

Neil was sitting, arms knotted. His face remained hard, gaze unwavering. “Absolutely.”

After a solid moment, he found himself nodding as he gradually deduced that....yes. Yes, that was definitely fair.

At some point, his fear of the coming days that awaited him, had evaporated and now, he was only filled with enthusiasm. This was _bound_ to be interesting.

Max cleared his throat, pushing away his lunchbox. He leaned forward, his two best friends sitting expectantly across the table. His mouth stretched into a wicked grin.

“Alright then, gang, start spitballing ideas. I gotta feelings this is gonna be the wildest Spring Break of our goddamn lives.”

**Author's Note:**

> for the record: i do not condone children running away from home. but i do believe, with all my heart, that these kids would pull that shit at least once.


End file.
